Ice hockey and roller hockey are both popular sports enjoyed worldwide. While played on different playing surfaces, both sports employ very similar equipment, including hockey sticks. Like many athletes, one problem faced by hockey players involves finding and using the best equipment available while keeping equipment costs low.
For many hockey players, the largest budgetary expense is buying and replacing hockey sticks. During the course of a game, a hockey stick can impact the playing surface hundreds of times, often at force levels equal to the maximum level for which the stick was designed. Hence, it is not uncommon for experienced players to break one or more sticks during each game. In many cases, a hockey stick breaks at the hozel portion of the blade (the lower shaft portion immediately above the blade), thus leaving the majority of the shaft undamaged. Disadvantageously, once a stick is broken, the hockey player must discard the entire hockey stick (shaft and blade), even though the shaft is otherwise in perfect condition. Additionally, the game's inherently physical nature often results in chipping and splintering of the hockey stick blade. Even though technically usable, a splintered blade is not effective and is usually discarded as well.
For decades, wood has been the conventional material used for hockey sticks. Many players have grown accustomed to the feel of a wooden shaft, as it is the only material most hockey players have ever used. Due to its wide scale use, many stick manufacturers have been reluctant to invest in alternative materials that emulate the "feel" of a wooden stick. Wood, however, has drawbacks. Only 5-10% of a given tree will yield lumber that has the lightness, stiffness, and grain uniformity suitable for use as hockey sticks. This is neither economically nor ecologically efficient. The skilled labor required to handcraft parts of these sticks is expensive. Wood varies from tree to tree, and sticks made to the same specifications may feel and play quite differently.
While a wooden shaft is advantageous due to its flexural characteristics, a wooden blade is not always advantageous because it does not fully transfer the force of a shot to the puck; i.e., it is not highly efficient, depending upon the choice of wood or the dimensions of the blade. Due to its typically softer nature, as compared with metals, a wooden blade is also subject to damage easily.
Attempts have been made to minimize the damage caused to hockey sticks during normal usage. Players often tape the blades of their sticks to prevent splitting and splintering of the wood blades. Taping the blade slows the wear associated with surface abrasion but does nothing to prevent against breakage. In addition, blades have been made with different materials, including thermoplastics that can be heated and/or mechanically attached to shafts of broken sticks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,721 to Franck discusses the use of kevlar, graphite, or fiberglass blades possessing thermoplastic cores. These synthetic materials, however, tend to wear poorly on abrasive surfaces like asphalt or concrete; common playing surfaces for street hockey in particular and roller hockey in general.
Manufacturers have also begun to use aluminum shafts with detachable blades, permitting the replacement of blades if necessary. The drawback is that aluminum shafts are expensive and many players prefer the feel of a wooden shaft.
Despite these efforts, none have solved the problem of maximizing the use of a wooden shaft stick by repairing damaged hockey sticks for reuse. While systems have been designed that permit the attachment of replacement blades to hollow hockey stick shafts, none are applicable to wooden shafts. Nor has there been an effective solution to the problem of maximizing the life of a hockey stick blade while improving performance. With wood, there is no guarantee that the same dimension and feel will result each time. Moreover, wooden blades do not permit the kind of customization that permits a user to maximize performance.